Those Bloody PJs
by Ayoshen
Summary: Mandatory Ruby is sick, Belle takes care of her fic, in which Belle has a slight problem with pajamas...


**A/N: **Anyone who gets the Oblivion reference will be my favorite person.

* * *

Ruby snorted so hard milk came out of her nose. That is not to be understood as criticism on Belle's milk and honey-mixing skills before sleep, not in the slightest. The cause of this unfortunate liquid spill (and Belle having to change the sheets later) was just the present image of the librarian in pajamas.

"I'b sorry," Ruby mumbled through a snotty nose and puffy cheeks at Belle's irritated tilt of the head. She set the mug on the nightstand and looked down at the blanket to collect herself, but as soon as she as much as threw a glance her mate's way, her face contorted in an uncontrollable giggle fit. "I just, you," she waved her hand around in a gesture that really only signified either no information or an ongoing seizure, "Id's so fuddy!"

"Oh come on! You'd look equally ridiculous in anything of mine!" Belle whined, making a mental note to buy her own nightgown in the nearest possible future. Truth be told, her current attire was indeed a matter of improvisation. Ever since she remembered her true identity, she had been overlooking this little detail. Belle had no idea what clothing Storybrookians slept in, so she just buried herself in a blanket fort in her underwear most of the time. But then it was wolfstime and Ruby got sick during a midnight run and now Belle had a sniveling pup that she had to take care of on her shoulders. A snorting, furball-coughing, smelly bundle of boogers and possibly ticks whose pajamas she had to wear. That last part didn't sound quite as bad until it became apparent that the pair's body mass wasn't exactly allocated evenly in both. The bottom hem of the shirt drew a line somewhere in Belle's groin area, the sleeves hid her wrists like they were the two prankster cousins no one wanted anywhere near a family gathering, and last but not least, Ruby couldn't say she minded the view of Belle's panty-clad backside due to the pants being just a little too wide.

"I think you bead I'd look absoludely fabulous," Ruby retorted with a wink and another coughing fit. "Drat. I just don' kdow whether id's because I'b fadder than you or because you're so dabn short."

"Well, you'll have to deal with it," Belle stomped, more as a joke than an expression of anger, but still.

"Belle, I'd deal with you if you had a boustache and called yourself Springheel Jak."

The sentence lingered in the air for a while, dying the women's cheeks a brighter shade of pink as both averted their eyes to the ground. This was the first time Ruby thanked the gods for being sick so that Belle couldn't really tell with her. Wait, no. The first time had been when Belle refused to let her go home alone.

"So…" Belle trailed off, looking up at her companion with fearful caution, "More milk?"

"Yes please thank you," Ruby answered and handed her the half-full mug.

When Belle returned, she saw that Ruby had already fallen asleep. Frowning, she set the warm ceramic on the nightstand and put the back of her hand on Ruby's forehead. Her temperature seemed to be the same; a little high, but nothing to be alarmed about. Satisfied with this finding, Belle looked around the room for something else for her to do. She couldn't change the sheets now that Ruby was tangled up in them, clutching the blanket like a stuffed animal. Not to mention Belle would probably just trip over those bloody pajama bottoms and break something in the end. Having decided to try her luck elsewhere, she was just about to find herself a cozy spot on the floor next to the bed when Ruby's voice stopped her movements.

"Wait, Belle, I can sleep on dhe floor, I'b okay, really, there," Ruby sprang up before sudden dizziness clouded her vision and made her sit back down on the edge of the bed. "Whoa."

Belle rushed over to help her lie back down. "Well, that's obviously not happening. At least not on my watch," she threatened. Ruby scowled in her obstinacy, fully intending to carry out her own plans. "Or we can, um, maybe, say, we can both sleep on the bed?" Belle squeaked when Ruby's inner wolf, as weak as it was, started to seem as if pushing her out of the way was in fact a manageable task. "I mean, not in a weird way or anything, but we wouldn't have to sleep on the floor if we didn't, right? I can just, um, settle right here in the corner and that would be okay, right?"

Ruby would kiss her just to shut her up if she weren't sick at this point, to be honest.

That was actually her only concern, miniature in comparison, and she cursed herself for voicing it. "What if you catch it frob be?"

"Then it'll be you bringing me milk and honey for a change."

And no, Belle didn't sleep in the corner or on the edge. Yes, neither did Ruby. Belle was cold during the night, since the loosely fitting pajama pants allowed for little protection from the cold.

Ruby was well aware of that. After all, that's why she'd lent the librarian her biggest PJ's.

"Ruby?"

"Mmh?"

"When did we agree on you being the big spoon?"


End file.
